On July 31, the Obama administration is expected to announce the restoration of federal Pell grant eligibility to prison inmates. While the move will expand educational opportunities to incarcerated individuals for an expected trial period of three to five years, it could also help decrease recidivism and alleviate prison crowding across the country.

In recent years, the line between correctional facilities and mental health facilities has blurred. Jails and prisons are now some of the largest de facto mental health providers in the country, and many county jails in dense metro areas are seeing more inmates in need of mental health services. However, as inmate populations age, providing both basic and more advanced medical care is also becoming a major concern.

Construction on the new 183,600-square-foot Litchfield Judicial District Courthouse in Torrington is currently underway. Farmington, Conn.-based KBE Building Corporation, the company overseeing the $67.8 million project, began erecting structural steel for the new building in May. The facility is scheduled for completion in next summer.